Stiffening portions of the uppers of shoes



Jan. 18, 1944. c. AMMON, JR 2,339,448

STIFFENING-PORTIONS OF THE UPFERS OF SHOES Filed July 15, 1941 Patented Jan. 18, 1944 STIFFENING PORTIONS OF THE UPPERS OF SHOES Conrad Ammon, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July 15, 1941, Serial No. 402,594

6 Claims.

This invention relates to stiffening portions of the uppers of boots and shoes, and is herein set forth in connection with the stiffening of the toe portion of an unlined upper.

It is common to stiffen the toe portion of the upper of a shoe by the use of a toe stiffener blank, which is treated with a softening agent to render it limp and sticky just before it is placed in the upper and, together with the upper, conforming to a last. The great majority of shoe uppers have linings, including a doubler, the softened stiffener blank being placed between the doubler and the upper. In any event, there is in a lined upper a layer of lining material between the toe stiffener and the last, so that sticking of the lasted upper to the last does not, in general, give trouble. When, however, the upper is unlined, the stiffener blank tends to stick to the last. Moreover, in an unlined upper, the toe stiffener is more or less in contact with the foot of the wearer of the shoe, and it is desirable that the stiffener should be very firmly bonded to the inner or under surface of the upper, particularly along the rear edge of the stiffener.

According to the present invention, a selected portion of an upper is stiffened by the use of a toe stiffener having on its under surface a coating of a substance which is unaffected by the softener, to the action of which the stiffener is subjected just prior to being placed in the upper; and preferably the under surface of the selected portion of the upper is provided with a dry coating of a cementitious substance, which is capable of being activated by the same softener.

As herein illustrated, a toe stiffener, consisting of a fibrous base impregnated with a cellulosic stiffening substance, is used, said stiffener having on its under surface a coating of a substance which is unaffected by the solvent used to soften the stiffening substance; and the under surface of the toe portion of the upper is provided with a dry coating of a cementitious substance, which is preferably the same substance as the stiffening substance of the blank. When the blank is treated by immersing it in the sol.- vent to soften it, the coating on its under surface is not softened; and, when the treated blank is placed in the upper, the solvent which it contains activates the cementitious coating on the under surface of the upper. It is thus possible to manufacture a shoe in which the toe stiffener is very firmly bonded to the upper, the lasted shoe being readily removable from the last upon which it was made.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a toe stiffener blank of the solvent-softening type, skived along the rear margin of its under surface and carrying on said surface a dry coating of a substance which is unaffected by the solvent which is used to soften the stiffener blank;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a vamp which carries on its under surface a coating of a cementitious substance capable of being activated by the solvent, which is used to soften the stiffener blank; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the toe portion of an unlined lasted shoe, the toe portion of the upper of which has been stiffened in accordance with the invention.

The toe stiffener 5 consists of a base of porous v fibrous material, such as felt or fabric impregnated with a stiifening substance, such as pyroxylin or Celluloid, said stiffener being capable, when immersed momentarily in a solvent such as acetone, of taking up a considerable quantity of solvent, with the result that the stiffener becomes soft or limp and sticky. The rear margin of the stiffener has been skived, as shown, so that in the finished shoe no ridge will occur across the toe tip. In order that the under surface shall not become sticky when the toe stiffener is treated with the softening liquid, said stiffener has been coated with water glass or other substance 7, which is unaffected by said liquid, and allowed to dry.

In order to make the softened stiffener stick more firmly to the under surface of the toe portion of the vamp 9 than it would otherwise do, said under surface has been coated with a solution of a cementitious substance-in the present case with a solution of the same substance which serves as the stiffening substance of the stiffener-which is compatible with the stiffening substance of the stiffener and is capable of being activated by the liquid used to soften the stiifener. In the illustrated vamp, the coating of cementitious substance H is in the form of a band or stripe across the area which will be contacted by the rear margin of the stiffener 5 when said stiffener has been softened and put in place in the upper.

Thus in the manufacture of this shoe, the uppers have stripes or coatings of a dry cementitious substance H across the undersides of their toe portions, and the toe stiffeners carry on their under surfaces a dry coating of a substance I, such as water glass. A toe stiffener is treated with a softening liquid, for example by the use of the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,927,954, granted September 26, 1933, upon an application filed in the name Of August R. Schoenky, which causes the blank to be passed through the softening liquid, whereby the blank picks up considerable liquid and becomes soft and sticky. The treated stiffener is placed in proper position upon the under surface of the toe portion of the upper; and then the upper, with the stiffener in place, is conformed to a last 13 upon which it remains until the softening liquid has evaporated entirely, or, at any rate, to such an extent that the stiffener has hardened. In Fig. 3, in which a portion of a welt shoe is shown, the insole is indicated at It and the welt at ll.

Inasmuch as the under surface of the toe stiffener carries a coating of a substance which is unaffected by the softening liquid, said surface remains hard and prevents sticking of the conformed upper to the last. As has been stated above, the stiffener, when treated with the softening liquid, becomes not only soft but sticky. However, if there is no cementitious coating on the under or flesh side of the toe portion of the upper, the softened stiffening substance acts as a one-way cement and produces a comparatively weak bond between the stiffener and the upper. When, however, the underside of the toe portion of the upper carries a dry coating of a cementitious substance, which is compatible with the stiffening substance and is activated by the liquid in the stiffener, the softened coating on the inner surface of the upper and the stiffening substance of the stiffener act as a two-way cement and produce an exceedingly strong bond, in which the fibers of the upper are firmly anchored to the fibers of the stiffener.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in the stiffening of the toe portion of an upper by the use of a toe stiffener of the sol-- vent-softened type, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the stiffening of any particular portion of the upper, nor to the use of any particular type of stiffener.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The method of incorporating in a selected portion of an unlined upper a stiffener blank whichis adapted to be rendered limp and sticky by treatment with a softener, said method comprising providing on the under surface of the blank a firmly adherent coating ofa substance which is unaffected by the softener, providing on the under surface of the selected portion of the upper a dry coating of a cementitious substance capable of being activated by the softener, treating the blank with the softener, placing the treated blank with its upper surface in contact with the under surface of the selected portion of the upper whereby the softener carried by the blank activate the cementitious coating, and conforming the upper and the blank to a last.

2. The method of incorporating in a selected portion of an unlined upper a stiffener blank which is adapted to be rendered limp and sticky by treatment with a. softener, said method comprising providing on the under surface of the selected portion of the upper a dry coating of a cementitious substance capable of being activated by said softener, treating the blank with the softener, placing the treated blank in contact with the coated surface of the upper whereby the softener carried by the blank activates the cementitiou substance, and conforming the upper and the blank to a last.

3. The method of incorporating in the toe portion of an unlined upper a stiffener blank carrying a cellulosic stifiening substance which is adapted to be rendered limp and sticky by treatment with a solvent, said method comprising providing on the under surface of the blank a firmly adherent coating of a substance which is unaffected by the solvent, providing on the under surface of the toe portion of the upper a dry coating of a cementitious cellulosic substance capable of being activated by the solvent, treating the blank with the solvent, placing the treated blank with its upper surface in contact with the under surface of the toe portion of the upper whereby the solvent carried by the blank activates the cementitious coating, and conforming the upper and the blank to a last.

4. The method of incorporating in the toe por tion of an unlined upper a stiffener blank carrying a cellulosic stiffening: substance which is adapted to be rendered limp and sticky by treatment with a solvent, said method comprising providing on the under surface of the toe portion of the upper'a dry coating of a cementitious cellulosic substance capable of being activated by the said solvent, treating the blank with the solvent, placing the treated blank in contact with the under surface of the upper whereby the solvent carried by the blank activates the cementitious cellulosic coating on the' upper, and conforming the upperand the blank to a last;

5. The method of incorporating in a selected portion of an unlined upper a stiffener blank containing a stiffening. substance which is adapted to be rendered soft and sticky by treatment with a softener, said method'comprising providing on the under surface of the selected portion of the upper a dry coating of a cementitious substance which is compatible with. the stiffening substance and'is capable of being softened by treatment with the same softener, and conforming the upper and the stiffener to a last while the two substances are soft;

6. A step product comprising an unlined upper of a shoe and a toe stiffener ready to be conformed to a last, said toe stifiener carrying a stiffening substance which is soft and sticky due to the presence in it of a solvent for said substance, and the unlined upper having on the under face of its toe portion acoating of a cementitious substance which is compatible with said stifiening substance, the surface of the cementitious substance being soft and sticky by reason of solvent which has been transferred to it from the toe stiffener.

- CONRAD AMMON, JR. 

